More of his tracks have topped various electronic music charts around the world than most producers could even hope for. He constantly drops the most jaw dropping, heart stopping tracks that make you want to drop everything and let loose. He started up and runs the label Big Fish Recordings, where heavy talents such as Alex Mind, Hirshee, Lucky Date, Neologic, Porter Robinson, and Zedd have released their tracks. On top of all of this, he somehow manages to find the time to provide a two hour long monthly podcast featuring the best in electro house and an hour long guest mix.
Way back in the summer, I posted about the incredible British electro producer by the name of Lazy Rich. He is one of my favourite artists for a number of reasons. The fact that he now resides in my home city of Vancouver might be one of them, but more importantly, Rich has accomplished in four years what most DJ’s strive to accomplish in a lifetime. Last week I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview him and gain some insight into the mind of one of the biggest names in electro house.
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SSOM: First thing I’ve gotta ask is that it’s easy to see where Rich comes from in your stage name, but what about the Lazy bit? I’d say you’re anything but. You’re constantly dropping the sickest new tracks, running Big Fish Recordings, touring the world, and even hosting one of the best electro podcasts around.
When I first starting DJ’ing, I absolutely loved the track ‘Lazy’ by X-Press 2. I absolutely loved it and I played it over and over and over so I just kinda stole the name really.
SSOM: That’s the one you’re always playing at the start of all your podcasts, right?
Exactly, yeah. It kinda worked well because I’m not lazy in any way when it comes to music production anyway, with everything else I’m lazy I guess.
SSOM: Is there anything in particular that you do when you actually are feeling lazy? Perhaps another hidden talent or…
I play a lot of computer games and I drink a lot of tea and that’s pretty much it really, that’s my life (laughs). That’s about as interesting as it gets really.
SSOM: How did you get interested and involved in the electronic music scene?
Well I grew up in England right, so electronic music was just around me my whole life. Ever since I was like four years old I’ve been listening to electronic music so it’s kind of always been there. When I got to about eighteen, a friend and me we decided to get some decks and messed around with them and I just loved doing it so I worked and worked and DJ’d all the time and then it was about four and half years ago I actually started producing and that’s when it really started getting crazy.
SSOM: Well it looks like it paid off well pretty well for you.
It’s really strange how it’s worked out. It was never something I intended for a career.
SSOM: What made you decide to move all the way out to Vancouver?
I just had some friends that were coming out here. I’d just finished my degree in England and I was just a bit bored so I thought that I’d go with them for six months and see what it was like and I just ended up staying. I love it here.
SSOM: Is the scene all that much different from here and in England?
You know, I don’t really know all that much about the scene back in England.
SSOM: Really? You haven’t gone back and played there at all?
I’ve played there a couple times but not much. I mean, I don’t know. I find it a lot safer and a lot nicer being out over here. There’s a lot of the drinking mentality that’s in England I don’t enjoy. The violence and stuff. I mean there are awesome places to go clubbing in England and I’ve had some really good times clubbing in England but I just prefer it over here. It’s much nicer all around.
SSOM: Well you’ve been playing shows pretty much all around the world, like you were just in South America this past year. How is it down there? Or is it pretty much the same thing.
Yeah it’s pretty different down there. Like, the crowds are really, I dunno. It’s really strange.
SSOM: Just kind of hard to describe?
Yes, it’s very hard to describe. They’re very picky. You have to really, really motivate them to get them moving around. Whereas here, people just go crazy the whole time.
SSOM: Any favourite venue in the world?
My favourite gig I’ve had was at Heaven in Seoul. Just phenomenal. People there went absolutely nuts.
SSOM: Seoul in Korea? That’s sick that you made it all the way out there.
Yeah, I love it over there. It’s pretty cool over there and I really like Planet Avalon in LA. There’s a place called Voyeur in San Diego; that’s one of my favourite places as well.
SSOM: Have you played out here in Toronto at all?
I have actually. I played at Guvernment a couple of years ago. It’s an amazing venue but I was only in one of the smaller rooms. I haven’t played a decent show in Toronto yet, only just smaller things. It’s hard. There are just some markets that are really hard to break into even though you could do so well in some places. Like I mean, I played Webster Hall in New York and Avalon in LA, which are two of the biggest and more well known clubs in America, but still in Toronto there’s just not that market for me. It’s strange you know, and same with Europe, I hardly ever play over in Europe. It’s annoying really.
SSOM: Well I know your style is so popular back in Vancouver, everyone just loves it. I know for a fact that anybody I’ve shown your music too just loves it. So you’ll always have fans out there.
Yeah I think I do pretty well on the West Coast. Same in Edmonton and Calgary I do really well.
SSOM: So tell me about Big Fish. What made you decide to start it up?
Basically I was fed up of giving my money to everyone else (laughs). Seriously, like if there a piece of advice I could give to any producer, it’s as soon as you’ve got a few Beatport top 100’s, start your own label and stop giving your money away to all these other people. There’s just no point. With Big Fish we’re very straightforward and honest. I mean, we talk to all the artists as often as we can and obviously we encourage them to put their tracks out on Big Fish, but there’s no pressure. I kinda want it to be a nice friendly community rather than being this thing just pushing to make as much money as possible.
SSOM: That’s wicked man. You’ve always got the sickest new artists coming outta there, so you definitely have a good taste in music. Is there any chance that readers could get any insight into any of the new artists you think will be heavy hitters?
There’s this Space Laces guy that just did a remix for us. He’s like number four on the charts right now and his stuff is just phenomenal so I’m hoping to sign some more stuff from him. I’ve also got a Lucky Date EP coming pretty soon. He’s big, I really like his stuff. There will be some more from me, some more from Hirshee obviously, but I mean, because we’ve been doing so well recently we just have more and more artists contacting us, which is really cool. So it just gets better and better you know.
SSOM: Any artist that you’d like to colab with in the future?
I’d like to work with Porter Robinson again cause he’s just a genius.
SSOM: Yeah his new EP is just unreal. I’ve been listening to it absolutely non-stop.
It’s phenomenal. It’s probably the best release of the year, and he’s a super nice guy as well. He definitely deserves everything he’s got. I’m also hoping to do a collaboration with Chris Lovely pretty soon. The track that you just heard that I was playing is a collaboration that I’m doing with Chris Lake, which is sounding pretty awesome.
SSOM: I’d for sure agree with that. Well one of my favorite producers right now is the Estonian Mord Fustang. Any chance you’ll do anything with him in the future? You were just with him and Alex Metric in LA last month I think.
I don’t know. Mord Fustang’s a strange one because of that whole restriction with Plasmapool. Nobody can really get close to him.
SSOM: Change of subject then. I’m pretty curious to know what your creative process is like. I’d imagine you need to be pretty pumped up to come up with all the massive tracks you’re churning out.
You know what, you have some days where you think: “I just can’t do this anymore, I’m just not a good producer, I just can’t do this” and nothing goes right and you’re thinking: “ok I’m just going to give up.” So you go and do something else for the rest of the day and the next morning you come back and it’s just bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Track done. If the creative juices are flowing, it’s just so easy and if they’re not it’s just the hardest thing in the world. Basically, If I’m doing an original track I’ll start out with just a drum beat and play around with some chords and keep jabbing at the keys until I play something that just sounds good and that I think can lead somewhere. Then I play around and add a bass line to it and different bits and then just see how it builds up. When I’m doing a remix, I’ll usually copy the breakdown from the original track and then play around with some different chords with it and try a different bass line with the vocal and stuff like that. You just have to keep playing around until something works, you know.
SSOM: Well it’s definitely been working out for you from what it sounds like.
I don’t know. I’m not at a stage yet where I’m completely one hundred percent happy with every track I’m putting out, which is still a bit annoying for me. I mean, if you listen to the tracks that I’m putting out compared to Porter Robinson, there’s still that gap that I’m finding. I mean, I’m not really… I wouldn’t say I was the most musical person in the world, and I wouldn’t say I was the best technical producer in the world. I think I’ve been quite fortunate with finding a sound that’s been popular and that’s the reason that I’ve been doing quite well.
SSOM: I personally think that you don’t have much to worry about. I mean, your style has elements of what’s popular now, but there’s just something about it that sets it apart from everyone else. Structure.
I think I can agree that there is something about my tracks. The thing is that I really try to focus on is the need for a melody that you can walk away with and get stuck in your head and you can whistle it and you can remember it. I mean, there are so many tracks that are just beeps and noises that are just completely forgettable, and I never want one of my tracks to be forgettable. It’s gotta have this big melody and it needs to have anthem quality to it.
SSOM: And that’s the thing. They’re always well balanced, whereas a lot of other guys, yeah they can be pretty good, but they just put in too much and it just ends up being a lot of noise and a handful of things just simply put together to be a banger. But yours are just… full tracks.
What a lot of people forget, and you know I’ve noticed this in people’s DJ sets as well, something will only seem really big and hard and bangin’ because it’s relative. So if you have a long period of something quiet before the drop, then of course it’s going to sound a lot bigger, right? Whereas if it’s just pounding huge all the time then it doesn’t seem quite as big anymore. So for me it’s all about the breakdowns, the buildup and the drop. The biggest point of the track and the most important thing is that point at which it drops and which it goes from being the breakdown to the main part of the track, and that for me is the essence of electro.
SSOM: Well what is your setup like that you usually play at shows then?
I just play on CD’s. I mean I’ve been DJ’ing for like twelve years and I used to play vinyl, and then I played serato, but for travelling around CD’s are probably the easiest for me. I don’t really like all the laptop DJ’s and stuff because I’m used to changing a set depending on what the crowd is doing. You know if it’s a kind of a more underground place I’ll play a lot harder, and if it’s a commercial kind of place I’ll play more vocals and more kind of Dutch stuff or whatever.
SSOM: That’s sick because it’s definitely becoming a lot harder to find artists that will actually do that.
Lots of people they will just pre program their sets and if it’s going bad they just have to grin and bear it, you know.
SSOM: Unfortunately one of the worst cases, I probably shouldn’t be saying it, but when I saw Avicii at the Convention Centre this past summer, he played a set I’ve heard many, many times before.
Well, remember Avicii is just such a young guy. But I definitely try to put on a show, and always make every one unique. I think especially the other DJ’s appreciate the fact that I’m actually DJ’ing rather than just pressing play. They can understand that it takes a fair bit of extra effort and a bit of extra skill to do that.
SSOM: I think you can agree with me when I say you don’t have a shortage of either of those, despite being ‘Lazy’. Speaking of which, I should probably let you get back to working on the track.
Thanks again for taking the time to do this.
Not a problem mate just let me know if you need anything else. Thanks for calling.
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Here are a few of the many, many amazing tracks that Rich has produced for your ears’ enjoyment. If you haven’t already, subscribe to The Lazy Rich show via iTunes, or snag all the current ones in the link I’ve included below the tracks.
Let loose,
Grant.
Lazy Rich – Better Wipe That Up (Original Mix) [Mediafire]
Lazy Rich – Get Out ft. Lizzie Curious (Original Mix) [Mediafire]
Lazy Rich – The Chase ft. Belle Humber (Original Mix) [Mediafire]
Lazy Rich & Porter Robinson – Hello ft. Sue Cho [Mediafire]
Kemal Justin Michael – Trouble ft. Heather Bright (Lazy Rich Remix) [SoundCloud]
Freakhouze – My Brain Is Bigger Than Yours (Lazy Rich Remix) (Full Track) [Mediafire]
Rico Tubbs – Feel It (Lazy Rich Remix) [Mediafire]
And here are some links for you to get even more insanity.
somesortofmusic. 
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